Helping Azerbaijan’s Children to Survive to Age 5
Azerbaijan has the highest infant and under-five mortality rates of any country in the Europe and Eurasia region. Pneumonia, diarrhea and neonatal conditions pose the greatest threat to young children. Tragically, most of these diseases could be prevented or treated with proven, low-cost interventions.
International Medical Corps (IMC) is committed to curtailing the death toll among children in Azerbaijan by strengthening pediatric health care through an integrated approach—Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI)—that focuses on the well-being of the whole child. As part of the USAID-funded Primary Health Care Strengthening (PHCS) Project, IMC now works in the three districts of Azerbaijan to help children survive until the age of five.
Prompt diagnosis and qualified health care are critical factors in saving the lives of children under the age of five. Through the PHCS Project, 60 health care providers received training on how to identify life-threatening conditions, refer to the hospital, and thus prevent serious complications and death.
Dr. Sitara Khasiyeva, chief of a Sheki district community clinic where the PHCS Progect is being implemented, says that child morbidity and mortality is a source of constant concern. Every day, she examines dozens of young patients from her community and its outskirts. “Before IMCI training, there were some cases in which I could hardly diagnose a patient. I used to refer children with complex symptoms to the district hospital.”
But any delay is dangerous when you are treating children under five.
Khasiyeva believes that IMCI guidelines have been much more effective in helping her diagnose sick children than everything she learned during her studies at the university.
“We were taught simple methods of assessing and treating children’s illnesses, and now I am able to treat my young patients more efficiently and more effectively,” says Khasiyeva. “If their illness is mild, I can even treat them at home instead of at the hospital.”
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Through PHCS, district health care providers are empowered to fight life- threatening diseases and save young lives
Photo Credit: Yusif Abbasov, IMC |
The training was targeted to pediatricians, as well as general practitioners, doctors’ assistants, nurses, chief doctors, and other health providers. “We were introduced to many innovative approaches to treating childhood illnesses with the help of new methods, such as diagnosing a child patient without using any equipment, just by touching. With the information I got from this training, I am now confident I can manage child health conditions,” says Dr. Khalil Vahabov, a general practitioner of Bash Zayzid village clinic in the Sheki district.
The participants were also given IMCI manuals, brochures and booklets, which are used as handbooks for health care providers. “Unlike the books we used previously, IMCI materials are written in a very clear, straightforward way and the information is accurate,” says Vahabov.
In addition to training materials, all participating health care facilities will be provided with timers for breathing rate, weight and height scales and essential drugs.
All the training participants are prepared to fight life-threatening diseases. “Previously, malaria was very difficult to treat, but now we can prevent it by using three medicines,” says Raya Isayeva, a community midwife.
As a result of IMCI’s training, communities are growing to trust their health providers. “Now, both patients and health care providers from neighboring villages approach us and ask for advice,” says Isayeva. “Health providers who did not participate in the training have shown great interest in the curriculum.”
“We can help our colleagues to practice better, thanks to this training,” says Khasiyeva. “It has given us the tools to help every child in every family.”
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